Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 1995. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
The Associated Press - 11 Oct 1995
Vaccine research had been slowed because HIV, the human AIDS virus, has not caused monkeys to become sick with AIDS. However, monkeys can develop the disease from the simian immunodeficiency virus, which is similar to HIV.
Bill Narayan, a virologist at the University of Kansas Medical Center, used a virus developed by Harvard researchers that combines parts of HIV with SIV. He then increased the strength of the hybrid virus by passing it from monkey to monkey through bone marrow transplants.
Within six months of being infected with the newly developed virus, about 20 monkeys developed many of the symptoms seen in humans. Three monkeys have died so far of AIDS-related causes, and four others are severely ill.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, called the new virus a significant finding.
"We have been trying for so many years to find an animal model for HIV," he said. "This model will accelerate research."
The National Institutes of Health has given Narayan a four-year, $1.6 million grant to continue studying the virus.
Dr. Norman Letvin, who helped develop the hybrid virus, described Narayan's work as a technical step, not a breakthrough, and said several laboratories are working on making monkeys sick with the virus.
Letvin said it was premature to discuss Narayan's work because it has not undergone review by other scientists.
Copyright 1995/The Associated Press. Reproduced with permission. Reproduction of this article (other than one copy for personal reference) must be cleared through the Permissions Desk, The Associated Press, 50 Rockefeller Plaza, New York, NY 10020.
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